'Powerful' Legco Would Have Nixed Metropolis Plan: CE

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Thursday that changes to the Legislative Council under new electoral arrangements mean now is the right time to put forward her plan to develop the northern part of Hong Kong into a new metropolis.

Appearing on a radio phone-in programme, Lam was asked why she didn’t propose the Northern Metropolis at the beginning of her term.

The CE said it would have been very difficult to get Legco approval earlier.

"In the past, the Legislative Council had great power. The council passed bills, amended laws and approved funding requests. I'll give you an example. We encountered a lot of difficulties when we introduced the co-location arrangement at the express rail station. It almost led to social unrest," she said.

"But recently, Legco quietly approved a co-location arrangement at Huanggang port. It’s obviously different. As Hong Kong’s situation is so good, I should make the most of the momentum and push ahead with the Northern Metropolis plan. If I did it three years ago, I would’ve been badly battered."